Steam iron water valve and manual operating mechanism therefor

ABSTRACT

In the preferred form, a steam iron having a water feed valve and operating mechanism therefor which may be selectively operated to produce a water flow rate and thus corresponding steam production at (1) a predetermined metered rate, (2) a momentary pulse greater than such metered rate, (3) a continuous maximum flow greater than such metered rate, and (4) cease water flow and thus allow the iron to operate as a dry iron.

United States Patent [191 Chivers et al.

mi june 17, 1975 h" we ED H 9 H 7 3,182,411 5/l965 3 407,52l l0/l968 3,593,441 3,703,777 3,722,] 17

[ STEAM IRON WATER VALVE AND MANUAL OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR ll/l972 Knapp.....

[75] Inventors: James R. Chivers, North Canton; 3/1973 Davidson William C, Pound, Ca t b th f 3,820,259 6/l974 Flowers...

Ohio

r e t a w a g .m V a h n .m m k i m mm L Am V 0 Sa e M o m m e d .m m m H x f E w W. e H H Um h t r O N v m D. m a {m P. 7 v0 wm Hm enL ha 6 Tco e n.. .w d S e S A F N N U D feed valve and operating mechanism therefor which [21] Appl. No.: 512,467

may be selectively operated to produce a water flow rate and thus corresponding steam production at (l) a predetermined metered rate, (2) a momentary pulse greater than such metered rate, (3) a continuous maximum flow greater than such metered rate, and (4) cease water flow and thus allow the iron to o a dry iron.

368 smv 3 m m 3 m 7 n 7 I n 8 W0 c u H HS L .f C mm Umfi HUM 555 perate as [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 38/7183 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Willman..........

STEAM IRON WATER VALVE AND MANUAL OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Steam irons of the flash boiler type which utilize water flow regulating means to control the water delivery rate to the flash boiler have been known for many years and today are the most prevalent type of steam iron on the market. Most irons of this type utilize a valve to interrupt water flow so that the iron may be used as a dry iron and to provide a continuous regulated or metered water flow for constant steaming. Such metered flow is desired to provide continuous steaming without flooding the flash boiler.

It is also known that a pump may be utilized with irons of this type to provide a momentary pulse of water to the flash chamber to provide a large pulse of steam in excess of the normal continuous steam. Since such a pulse is momentary, it does not flood the boiler. An iron which provides all three of these functions is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,703,777 issued to R. S. Knapp on an application filed on Jan. 6, 1971 and assigned to the same assignee as the instant case. The present invention is directed to an improvement on the structure of that patent.

The prior art also teaches that a continuous flow of water to the hot iron soleplate in excess of normal steam water flow will provide a copious quantity of steam and thus flood the soleplate to flush out carbonized lint and other loose particles in the soleplate passageways. This has been referred to as a self-cleaning iron.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a steam iron of the type taught in Knapp US Pat. No. 3,703,777 mentioned above which also provides the self-cleaning function. More particularly, the invention is directed to a water valve structure and a valve operating mechanism which will provide a control of the waterflow rate to the flash chamber which will allow the iron to be operated as (l) a dry iron, (2) a continuous steaming iron, (3) a steam iron with a momentary excessive pulse of steam at will and (4) as a self-clean iron.

Furthermore, the structure of the present invention provides all four of these functions by a single valve mechanism operated through a single manual selective control.

In the preferred form, the manual control of the present invention is a type that provides for one-hand operation of the iron for all four functions. Thus, the manual control is so located that as the operator grasps the iron handle in the normal manner, the valve operating mechanism may be thumb operated by the hand resting on the iron handle in such a manner to selectively provide all of the four functions mentioned above.

The present invention is thus directed to a steam-dry iron having a soleplate with a flash chamber located therein, a water reservoir located above the soleplate, a water conduit communicating between the water tank and the flash chamber, and valve means located in the water conduit having a dry position, a continuous limited flow position, and a maximum flow position; such valve means being selectively controlled by a single manual operating member. In the preferred form, the operating member is so located as to be manually controlled by a hand resting on the iron handle. Fur- III thermore, the valve means may be actuated as a pump to provide a momentary increased flow of water.

The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will readily become apparent from a study of the following description and from the appended drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown for the purpose of illustration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevational view partially in section of an iron embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view showing the valve and valve operating member of the present invention in the dry position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view showing the valve and valve operating member of the present invention in a metering flow rate position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view showing the valve and valve operating member of the present invention at the bottom of a pump stroke providing momentary increased flow of water; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of the valve and valve operating member of the present invention showing the valve in a position providing continuous maximum flow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 discloses a steam-dry iron 10 incorporating the structure of the present invention. The iron is pro vided with an electrically heated soleplate 12 which includes a flash chamber 14 having a cover plate 15 and connected by steam passageways I6, partially shown, to steam vents I8, all common to irons of this type. Located above the soleplate 12 is a shell 20 which encloses a standard water tank 22. Located above the shell 20 is a typical iron handle 24 which is secured to the soleplate 12 by means of a bolt 26 passing through a sleeve 28 of the water tank, all in typical fashion.

Also of typical manner, the from upper portion of the handle is provided with controls for the steam iron, such as the temperature control level 30 which operates a thermostat (not shown) and a spray pump button 32 which operates a pump (not shown) to supply water from the tank 22 to a spray nozzle 34. The temperature control system and the spray system do not provide any part of the present invention.

Also shown in FIG. I is a water flow control system generally indicated at 40 which is the subject matter of the present invention. The water flow control system 40 is used to selectively regulate water feed from the water tank 22 to the flash chamber 14, so as to provide a multiplicity of operating functions of the iron, thus providing a multi-purpose iron.

The water flow control system 40 comprises a valve unit generally designated 42, which is selectively controlled by a manual operating mechanism generally designated 44. The valve unit 42 and the manual operating mechanism 44 are interconnected by a valve stem 46 passing through a bore 48 of the handle 24. Sectional views 2 through 5 show the water flow control system 40 in different operating positions for controlling the water flow from the water tank 22 to the flash chamber 14 to provide the different operational functions of the iron.

The valve unit 42 is provided with a main body portion 50 which is staked to the water tank 22 and compresses a gasket 52 against the flash chamber cover plate in a sealing relationship. The main body portion 50 has a stepped passageway therein which provides fluid communication between the water tank 22 and the flash chamber 14.

The top annular wall of the main body portion 50 has a plurality of notches 54 cut therein to allow water to enter into a cylinder 56 formed in the main body pas sageway. The water will then flow through a metering orifice 58 formed in the lower portion of the main body portion 50.

A piston 60 is axially secured to the valve stem 46 by means of two C-clips 62. The piston 60 is also provided with an O-ring 64 and is adapted to be received within the cylinder 56 of the valve body 50. When the piston 60 is located within the cylinder 56, as in FIG. 2, water flow through the cylinder 56 will cease due to the piston 60 and the O-ring 64 forming a seal. Thus, no water will enter the flash chamber 14 from the water tank 22 and the iron can be operated as a dry iron.

When the valve stem 46 is lifted, and thus the piston 60 is located above the cylindrical portion 56, the piston and cylinder arrangement will no longer act as a closed valve and the water may flow around the piston 60 through the cylinder 56 and then through the orifice 58 into the flash chamber and steaming will occur. The valve stem 46 below the piston 60 forms a metering pin 66 which cooperates with the metering orifice 58 to control the water flow through the annular gap between the metering pin 66 and the metering orifice 58. This position is shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

When the valve steam 46 and thus the piston 60 are suddenly moved from the upper position of FIG. 3 to the lowermost position of FIG. 4, a quantity of water is trapped in the cylinder 56 by the piston 60 and then forcefully ejected through the annular gap between the metering pin 66 and the metering orifice 58. This would provide a momentary increase of water flow to the flash chamber 14 which would provide a pressurized pulse of steam through the soleplate steam passageway l6 and the steam vents 18. This pressurized flow of steam would be only momentary and water flow would cease due to the positioning of the piston 60 within the cylinder 56 until the piston is allowed to return to its continuous steam position of FIG. 3.

The cooperation between the piston 60 and the cylinder 56 provides dry ironing, continuous metered steam, and a momentary increase of pulsed steam as taught by the previously identified Knapp US. Pat. No. 3,703,777. The present invention, however, does provide the additional structure of the metering pin 66 extending from the lower portion of the piston 60, which cooperates with the metering orifice 58.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the valve steam 46 and the piston 60 may be moved to the elevated position taught in FIG. 5 wherein the metering pin 66 is removed from the orifice 58. When the piston 60 is in the elevated position, water from the tank 22 flows through the cylinder 56 and the orifice 58 and into the flash chamber 14 in copious quantities since the water flow is less restricted by the removal of pin 66 from the orifice 58. This copious flow of water provides a continuous flow greater than the metered rate which floods the flash chamber 14. This causes an excessive amount of steam and then water to flow through the steam passageway 16 of the soleplate to the steam vents 18 in a manner which flushes out carbonized lint and loose residues which may exist in the soleplate. This is referred to as a self-cleaning function.

As mentioned above, the valve unit 42 just described is connected by means of the valve stem 46 with a manual operating mechanism 44 located in the upper for ward portion of the iron handle 24. The iron handle is provided with a recess 70 and a counter-sunk portion 72 in axial alignment with the bore 48 through which the valve stem 46 extends. A handle cover member 74 overlies the recess 70 and has a central opening 76 in axial alignment with the above-mentioned portion. The valve stem 46 extends upwardly from the piston 60 through the bore 48, countersunk portion 72, and the recess 70 where it is pivotally connected by means of a pin 78 to a button 80. The button 80 has a relief 82 in its lower portion, where the button is pivotally connected to the valve stem 46, which allows the button to pivot with respect to the valve stem 46 in a plane passing through the iron from front to rear. The relief 82 has a forward edge 84 which limits forward pivotal movement of the button 80. The relief 82 also has a rear edge 86 which may be utilized to limit rearward pivotal movement of the button 80.

The rear face of the button 80 is also provided with a notch 88 which cooperates with a lower surface 90 of the cover 74 to lock the button 80 in a lower position when the button 80 is depressed and rocked to the rear. The rear surface of the button 80 furthermore cooperates with the rear upper edge 92 of the opening 76 to allow the button 80, when in an upper position, to rock or pivot around the edge 92 in a lever fashion (shown in FIG. 5) to further raise the lower end of the button 80 to provide a high lift of the valve stem 46.

The upper surface of the button 80 may be contoured to facilitate thumb operation of the button to provide both downward movement and rearward pivotal movement of the button 80.

The lower surface of the button 80 rides on a washer 94 which is upwardly biased by a spring 96. The lower surface of the spring 96 seats on a washer 98 which is backed by a rubber washer 100 and normally seats in the recess 70. Located below the rubber washer 100 is another washer 102 which rests on a C-clip 104 secured in a groove on the valve stem 46. The washers 94, 98, 100 and 102, along with the spring 96 and the C-clip 104, are all coaxially mounted with respect to the valve stem 46.

Due to the upward bias of the spring 96 on the washer 94 and thus the button 80, the piston 60 of the valve unit 42 is normally biased to the upper position of FIG. 3 to provide continuous metered steam as mentioned above. To stop water flow from the tank 22 to the flash chamber 14, and thus cause the iron to act as a dry iron even when there is water in the tank 22, the button 80 is depressed and thus positions the piston 60 within the cylinder 56, as shown in FIG. 2. The button 80 can then be pivoted to the rear to cause the notch 88 to lock on the lower surface 90 of the cover 74. The counter-sunk portion 72 allows the washer 102 and C- clip 104 to proceed to the lower position shown in FIG. 2.

When momentary pulses of steam are desired, the manual operating mechanism 44 and the valve unit 42 are first placed in the position of FIG. 3 which allows continuous metered steam. When the piston 60 is in this position, the cylinder 56 will fill with water. The button 80 is then rapidly depressed against the bias of the spring 96 until the washer 102 and C-clip 104 reach the bottom of the counter-sunk portion 72 or the piston 60 bottoms in the cylinder 56 which limits further downward movement of the control mechanism. This position is shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

During the rapid movement of position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 4, the piston 60 will force the quantity of water located within the cylinder 56 through the annular gap between the metering pin 66 and the metering orifice 58 to cause a momentary, but increased, flow of water, from the tank 22 through the flash chamber 14 to provide a momentary pulse of steam described above.

When manual pressure is removed from the button 80, the button 80 and thus the piston 60 will again be raised to the normal spring-biased position shown in FIG. 3 which will allow the cylinder 56 to again fill with water, at which time the button 80 may again be depressed to provide another momentary pulse of steam.

In order to provide the maximum water flow and thus self-cleaning operation, the control mechanism 44 is placed in the position taught in FIG. 5 which places the valve in the maximum flow position and thus removes the metering pin 66 from the metering orifice 58 to reduce the restriction to water flow from the tank 22 to the flash chamber 14. To provide this operation, the button 80 is drawn rearwardly so as to pivot about the rear upper edge 92 of the opening 76 in a lever fashion to further raise the pin 78 and thus provide the elevated position of the valve. The rocking movement of the button 80 is allowed by the relief 82 and causes the rear edge of the button 80 to move along the rear upper edge 92 of the opening 76.

Since the washer 102, due to the upward movement of the valve steam 46, has now abutted the washer 100 and thus compresses the spring 96, the control mechanism will automatically return to the position of FIG. 3 when manual pressure on the button 80 is released.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that the button 80 is manually operated and selectively provides the desired four functions. It can be seen that by positioning the button 80 in the upper forward portion of the handle 24, the button 80 can be easily manipulated by the thumb of a hand grasping the hand grip portion of the handle 24. Thus, single hand operation is provided when the thumb is utilized to either selectively depress or pivotally rotate the button 80 to achieve the desired functions of the iron through vertical reciprocation of the piston 60 and the metering pin 66 with respect to the cylinder 56 and the metering orifice 58, respectively.

in view of the foregoing, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that we have accomplished at least the principal object of our invention. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. Hence, it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only and that our invention is not limited thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. In a steam-dry iron having a soleplate with at least one steam discharge port, a water reservoir located above said soleplate, a steam generating chamber in fluid communication with said water reservoir, and a steam distribution passageway interconnecting said steam generating chamber and said steam discharge port, the improvement comprising,

a valve member regulating the fluid communication between said water reservoir and said steam generating chamber and having at least three colinear spaced positions consisting of a dry position, a limited flow position and a maximum flow position so as to regulate flow of water from said water reservoir to said steam generating chamber,

a valve operating member interconnected to said valve member, said valve operating member being adapted to be linearly moved to place said valve member in one of said positions and being adapted to be manually biased to place said valve member in another of said positions, whereby said valve member can be selectively moved between said three relative positions by manual operation.

2. The steam-dry iron of claim 1 wherein said interconnection between said valve operating member and said valve member is a pivot and the manual bias causes said valve operating member to pivot with respect to said valve member.

3. The steam-dry iron of claim 2 wherein said iron is provided with a handle, said valve operating member is located in the upper forward portion of said handle, said valve member is located adjacent said water reservoir, said valve operating member being pivotally connected to a valve stem extending from said valve member, said valve operating member being so located with respect to the handle that the thumb of a hand grasping said handle can reciprocate and pivot said valve ope rating member.

4. The steam-dry iron of claim 1 wherein said valve member includes a metering stem adapted to be located in a metering orifice defined by a passageway interconnecting said water reservoir and said steam generating chamber, said metering stem being located within said orifice when the valve member is in said limited flow position and being removed from said orifice when said valve member is in said maximum flow position.

5. The steam-dry iron of claim 4 wherein said valve member also includes a piston which is adapted to seal with respect to said fluid passageway interconnecting said water reservoir and said steam generating chamber, whereby said piston is located within said fluid passageway when said valve member is in said dry position, and is removed from said fluid passageway when said valve member is in said limited flow position.

6. The steam-dry iron of claim 5 wherein said piston is adapted to reciprocate within said fluid passageway to forefully eject water from said passageway into said steam generating chamber when said valve operating member is vertically reciprocated by manual operation. l 

1. In a steam-dry iron having a soleplate with at least one steam discharge port, a water reservoir located above said soleplate, a steam generating chamber in fluid communication with said water reservoir, and a steam distribution passageway interconnecting said steam generating chamber and said steam discharge port, the improvement comprising, a valve member regulating the fluid communication between said water reservoir and said steam generating chamber and having at least three colinear spaced positions consisting of a dry position, a limited flow position and a maximum flow position so as to regulate flow of water from said water reservoir to said steam generating chamber, a valve operating member interconnected to said valve member, said valve operating member being adapted to be linearly moved to place said valve member in one of said positions and being adapted to be manually biased to place said valve member in another of said positions, whereby said valve member can be selectively moved between said three relative positions by manual operation.
 2. The steam-dry iron of claim 1 wherein said interconnection between said valve operating member and said valve member is a pivot and the manual bias causes said valve operating member to pivot with respect to said valve member.
 3. The steam-dry iron of claim 2 wherein said iron is provided with a handle, said valve operating member is located in the upper forward portion of said handle, said valve member is located adjacent said water reservoir, said valve operating member being pivotally connected to a valve stem extending from said valve member, said valve operating member being so located with respect to the handle that the thumb of a hand grasping said handle can reciprocate and pivot said valve operating member.
 4. The steam-dry iron of claim 1 wherein said valve member includes a metering stem adapted to be located in a metering orifice defined by a passageway interconnecting said water reservoir and said steam generating chamber, said metering stem being located within said orifice when the valve member is in said limited flow position and being removed from said orifice when said valve member is in said maximum flow position.
 5. The steam-dry iron of claim 4 wherein said valve member also includes a piston which is adapted to seal with respect to said fluid passageway interconnecting said water reservoir and said steam generating chamber, whereby said piston is located within said fluid passageway when said valve member is in said dry position, and is removed from said fluid passageway when said valve member is in said limited flow position.
 6. The steam-dry iron of claim 5 wherein said piston is adapted to reciprocate within said fluid passageway to forefully eject water from said passageway into said steam generating chamber when said valve operating member is vertically reciprocated by manual operation. 